Zen and the Art of Water Running

Strange though this may sound, I find running in the water to be more interesting than running on a treadmill.

This is particularly odd given that "running in the water" involves my wearing a flotation belt like this one:

...hooked up to the side of the pool via an elastic tether, and using a running motion in the water to keep myself both moving and vertical. (As if the belt weren't silly enough, I've actually rigged a couple of small water bottles on it as well for my longer days like today, when I was in the water for 2.5 hours.) I'm literally running to nowhere here at various speeds depending on the day, and yet I find it fascinating. Why?

Part of it is anthropological, one might say-- from my vantage point, I can see (and hear) everyone who comes into the place. I go to the pool early in the morning, just as the first lap session of the day is ending, when a group of decided 'regulars' comes for their routine swims. They're all older than me, and many of them are women who seem to enjoy bobbing up and down with the use of pool noodles while chatting with one another. Trucking away in the deep end, I can blithely eavesdrop on their conversations at will, since pools are notoriously echoey places. The first day was particularly amusing, as everyone looked at me somewhat askance out of the corners of their eyes, unsure of exactly who this stranger was and just what she was doing. But they gradually bobbed on over in an ever-so-casual kind of way, and having ascertained that I was harmless, either asked outright or exclaimed loudly when they realized I was tethered and thus immobile, thus giving me the chance to explain. Now I seem to be accepted as a fairly constant fixture, if not quite one of the proverbial gang, which suits me fine-- we smile and say good morning to one another, and every so often one or two will come over and chat for a while as I churn away. It's all good fun, really.

Another part of this that I really like is the meditative quality-- like running outside, running in the water gives me a chance to let my body do its thing while my mind goes where it will. Oddly enough, I don't find myself daydreaming much: it really does seem to be an experience much like sitting in meditation, noticing things that come up as they come up, then watching them pass by. Refreshing, in a way.

An old Zen joke goes: "Don't just do something, sit there!" If I had to choose between treadmill running and my morning pool sessions, at the moment I'd pick the pool, dorky accessories and all. I may be going nowhere, but I'm enjoying the trip.